Wayne County Farm Tour educational and entertaining family event

Monday

Oct 14, 2013 at 4:00 AM

By Bobby Warren Staff Writer

WOOSTER -- Visitors in droves spent a part of their Sunday afternoon on the Wayne County Farm Tour, getting a chance to see a wide-range of agricultural practices, from old-fashioned wool spinning to cutting-edge robotic milking.

Linda Reichert gave demonstrations on how to spin sheep's wool at the Zimmerly Club Lambs operation, Rohrer Road. Owners Craig Zimmerly and Geoffrey Zimmerly raise competitive market lambs that are sold to 4-H and FFA exhibitors.

Mindy Cavin, a former Wooster councilwoman, took her daughters, Abby and Emily, on the tour.

As for why "city folks" were on the tour, Mindy Cavin said, "We need to see where it all comes from. I love farms. My mother grew up on a farm. Everyone needs to appreciate what goes on with this."

Abby Cavin said she thought the Zimmerlys' lambs were cute.

When the Cavin family stopped at the Legend Dairy farm on Fox Lake Road, Sterling, Abby Cavin said she didn't care too much for the smell.

The dairy, owned by Doug and Emily Horst and Dean and Esther Horst, featured a Lely robotic milker. Cows can get milked twice a day using the system, which cleans the teats and through the guidance of lasers, allows for the cows to be milked. They milk about 120 Holstein cows.

Greg and Michelle Steffen, who operate a dairy farm in Kidron, were also among the visitors, with their children, Elijah and Moriah, at Legend Dairy. They milk about same number of cows, 110-120.

Greg Steffen said it looked like the robotic milker was working out well for the Horsts.

Elijah Steffen helps out on the farm, but he was not sure he was ready to ask his parents to invest in a robotic milking system.

Like Abby Cavin, Moriah Steffen thought the lambs were cute. "It was cool" being at Zimmerly Club Lambs, Moriah Steffen said.

Jim and Bambi Chapman brought six of their children on the tour, something they do every year.

"It's a nice family day," Jim Chapman said.

"It's educational," Bambi Chapman said, plus she loves being around the animals.

Josh Chapman, 8, and Ireland Chapman, 3, both said they liked the cows.

Elijah Chapman, 11, also liked the cows, but especially liked the calves because they would nibble on his fingers.

Cody Chapman, 15, is interested in working on a farm, and he was impressed with the robotic milking system.

At Ramseyer Farms, Akron Road, visitors had the chance to taste the potatoes grown there.

The farm, owned by Dennis and Karen Ramseyer, sells some of its potatoes to Jones Potato Chips in Mansfield. A bag of chips awaited each guest. They could also purchase french fries made from the Ramseyers' locally grown spuds.

Dennis Ramseyer said his grandfather moved to this area in the late 1800s, and in the early 1900s his grandfather started farming the land. The family had a large dairy farm, but a fire in the 1930s destroyed the dairy operations. His grandfather had been "playing around" with potatoes, and he decided to get out of the dairy business and go strictly with potatoes.

In the 1940s, the family was farming 1,200 acres, and all of the potatoes were for retail. During the Great Depression, trucks would come down from Cleveland, Akron and Canton and go home loaded with 100-pound sacks of potatoes that would be peddled on the streets, Dennis Ramseyer said. Potato farming was so big in this area at one time, that Frito Lay built a plant here, he added.

However, after a couple of years of drought conditions, the chip maker started looking for a more reliable and consistent crop. Thus, there was a contraction in the number of potato farmers. Also, there were fewer and fewer small chippers, making it more difficult for potato farmers to sell their goods.

Today, the Ramseyers farm about 720 acres. About 20 percent of the crop goes to Jones, another 20 percent goes to Utz and Herr's through a broker and the remaining crop goes to a plant in Charlotte, N.C., that produces private-label chips.

The past couple of years have been tough, Dennis Ramseyer said. "We take it one year at a time. This year there's been a good crop and a good quality."

Ramseyer Farms grows Beacon Chipper, Atlantic and Lamoka potatoes to be used for chips. About 10 acres of the farm are devoted to potatoes that are sold to the public at the farm. For those "eating" potatoes, they grow Katahdin, a variety that came out of Maine about 70-80 years ago. It has a greater moisture level and russet potatoes, so they do not need as much butter and sour cream. And, they have a great flavor, Dennis Ramseyer said.

The Wayne County Farm Tour was organized by the Wayne County Farm Bureau. Other stops along this year's tour, which ran on Saturday and Sunday, were Bauman Orchards, Rittman Orchards, Marshallville Packing Company, Bristol Dairy, Orrville Veterinary Clinic, Pet Spa and Resort and Smith's Dairy Fueling Station.

Reporter Bobby Warren can be reached at 330-287-1639 or bwarren@the-daily-record.com. He is @BobbyWarrenTDR on Twitter.